Take one look at Kevin Smith: He's a balding fatty who wears a size XXL hockey jersey, shorts, and slippers year-round. Not a likely source for life advice. But take a second look at Kevin Smith: He changed filmmaking forever when he was twenty-four with the release of Clerks, and since then has gone on to make nine more profitable movies, runs his own production company, wrote a best-selling graphic novel, and has a beautiful wife and kids. So he must be doing something right.

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Publisher's Summary

Profane, honest, and totally real advice from comedian and director Kevin Smith - one of America's most original voices....

Take one look at Kevin Smith: He's a balding fatty who wears a size XXL hockey jersey, shorts, and slippers year-round. Not a likely source for life advice. But take a second look at Kevin Smith: He changed filmmaking forever when he was 24 with the release of Clerks, and since then has gone on to make nine more profitable movies, runs his own production company, wrote a best-selling graphic novel, and has a beautiful wife and kids. So he must be doing something right.

As Kevin's millions of Twitter followers and millions of podcast listeners know, he's the first one to admit his flaws and the last one to care about them. In early 2011, he began using his platform to answer big questions from fans - like "What should I do with my life?"- and he discovered that he had a lot to say. Tough Sh-t distills his four decades of breaking all the rules down to direct and brutally honest advice, including:

Why he has accepted Ferris Bueller as his personal savior, and what the Tenets of Buellerism can teach about hiding in plain sight and lip-syncing in the face of danger

Why it's really fun to eat but not so fun to be fat

What to do about people who don't like your policies ( for starters, tell them to pucker up and smooch your big ol' butt)

What Kevin's idol Wayne Gretzky can teach us about creativity and direction

For anyone who's out of a job, out of luck, or just out of sugary snack foods, Tough Sh*t is an unabashedly honest guide to getting the most out of doing the least.

I like Kevin Smith despite myself - - and him. The essence of this guy is a really sweet, funny, and ridiculously smart "artist" as he insists on calling himself and others. The need to slip into 6th grade boy humor and more swear words per square inch then you can believe possible doesn't prevent even a quasi-prude like me from really enjoying the person who lies at the heart of this "artist." If you've seen and liked any of his films like Chasing Amy or Clerks (or my personal favorite: Dogma) then you'll really like this book as well. What makes it more special is that he occasionally goes off script and you get that spontaneous humor that makes him so entertaining. If you like his movies, you'll like this man, and you'll like this book and agree with him: he's an artist.

First, a warning: this book contains more naughty language and downright profane sentiment than any book I've read in a long, long time - maybe ever! If you're familiar with Kevin Smith's work, then you're already acclimated to the language. If you're new to the "View Askewniverse," proceed at your own risk. ;-)

That being said, I'm a huge fan of Kevin Smith. I love his gift for dialogue and characterization, his talent for giving a sparkle to minutiae, and the sweet heart that beats behind an undeniably dirty mouth. Most of all, I love the fact that he is an ordinary guy who's made it big by making art. This book was just as touching, inspiring and hilarious as a fangirl could've wished. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

"As much as you want to walk your own path you're terrified of standing apart. Because the pack offers security, normalcy, convenience, protection and identity. So here's the tough sh*t: security, normalcy, convenience, protection and identity? They're opiates you've got to wean yourself off before you can be an individual. You can't stand out if you're blending in."

"In the face of such hopelessness as our eventual unavoidable death, there is little sense in not at least trying to accomplish all of your wildest dreams in life."

"If you're alive, kick into drive. Chase whimsies. See if you can turn dreams into a way to make a living, if not an entire way of life."

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."

Any fan of Smith will enjoy this book. Those who aren't fans will likely find themselves entertained and inspired. I'll definitely be reading this one again.

Kevin Smith is one of the funniest people alive. His movies are fantastic, but this tops them all. He says things in such an honest and funny way, you're left feeling that you can't believe you've never seen it like that before. Or, maybe you did, you're just not clever enough to say it like he can. One warning: you might want to strap on some depends. You might pee yourself while listening to this book.

Look even if you???re only vaguely familiar with Kevin Smith work you can???t go wrong with this book. It is absolute gold. You???re going to be charmed by Smith???s witticisms and colorful pro???s, which range from hardcore nerd humor to a surprisingly wide knowledge of historic figures (the guy really is funny). I???m defiantly going to recommend this to everyone I meet, especially because it???s saved my sanity during finals week. Where I???ve been working full time on campus, and buried under a literal mountain of research essays. In addition, the fact that Kevin Smith decided to narrate this book himself adds to the flavor and really gives it a stand out performance.

Kevin Smith is a funny guy and loves to talk so it's no surprise that he narrates this book and he does it well.

If you're a fan looking for anything new I doubt you'll find it here as if you've listened or watched his Q&A shows and podcasts this book is pretty much the same thing, which is not a surprise but I might of hoped for more new material.

I love Kevin Smith and have always enjoyed his movies, especially his early ones. He’s a New Jersey guy like myself. He is a huge hockey fan like myself. And like myself, he is a huge George Carlin fan.

He is a great writer and I loved hearing about the making of his movies and especially loved hearing about his saga with Bruce Willis. I also loved hearing about Wayne Gretzky. I may need to purchase that book too now.

In any event, this is a great book and is very funny right from the very beginning up until the very end.

I would recommend this book to a friend. It's a great way to spend six hours listening to a really good story, read by a really good voice.

How has the book increased your interest in the subject matter?

I continue to search for books such as this that give advice to creative people.

Does the author present information in a way that is interesting and insightful, and if so, how does he achieve this?

The information is presented in very interesting and insightful ways. One example is the explicit language use in relation to personal affairs. This is quite unique, and genius.

What did you find wrong about the narrator's performance?

On occasion, especially when talking about filming after Clerks, I thought there was a touch of politics in the tone of voice. I don't know if it was intentional or that it showed a sign of discontent with the structure of the art/film industry.

Do you have any additional comments?

I listened through in one sitting and really enjoyed it. I liked Kevin Smith's voice because it was

I love Kevin Smith, and I loved his performance in reading the book, and since this book is about himself, it couldn't get any better, a story about a funny man, written by the same funny man himself and narrated by the same funny man, the story is entertaining.

This is not your typical audiobook. It's more like listening to your most entertaining friend share their perspective and experience over several awesome conversations (OK, it's not a conversation, but it almost feels like it -- he doesn't sound like he's reading a book, though!). This is the only audiobook where I would mute my GPS navigation so I wouldn't miss anything he said. Kevin notes off the bat that his goal is to give audiobook listeners a little something different since it is, after all, a distinct experience from reading. He throws in some asides that aren't in the book, and tells you when there's something on the page that we as audio listeners can't see (like a picture), and gives some context for us to understand what it is, why it's there, etc. I'm waiting for the sequel!

What other book might you compare Tough Sh-t to and why?

I read (as opposed to listend to) Sarah Silverman's Bedwetter... and this has some similarities. Tough Sh-t is funnier.

Which character – as performed by Kevin Smith – was your favorite?

I was not a Kevin Smith fan before this and had only cursory knowledge of his career in showbiz, but the title jumped out and the audio sample sold me. The Bruce Willis story had me laughing out loud (not an easy feat).

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

His whole take on life moves me, even though he's vulgar and outrageous and I wouldn't repeat most of the things he says (at least not with the same words).

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